I have 125,000 miles on my '04 Prius. I get about 55mpg (a bit higher, but being conservative) over the life of the car. I replaced a 12mpg Ford Expedition in Oct. 2003 with the Prius. I've used 8145 gallons LESS fuel in the Prius than I would have used had I simply gotten another Expedition. At $3/gallon average fuel cost over those 8 1/2 years I've saved ~$24,450 in gas cost. I paid right at $24,000 for my Prius, cash, in October 2003. I STILL love this car!
Wow. Just a great reminder like you said. Gas isn't going down so you made an excellent choice in 2003. I did the same with an explorer in 2003/2004 for a civic. I've been craving more MPG ever since.
My 2004 Prius cost about $23k in April, 2004. As of my last fill up: 223,010 miles, 4867.53 gallons, $13,354.46 spent on gas Since this car gets about twice the MPG of my other car, I had saved about $13k in gasoline cost as of two week ago ( My average gasoline price was $2.74 in that period). Of course at today's gas price (almost $4 per gallon) this would be over $19k in savings JeffD
My '04 Prius replaced a 40 MPG Honda Civic and most of the use of '94 Surbau Impreza '96. If I figure half of the 150k miles now on the Prius would have been Civic and half Impreza, I have saved 2723 gallons thus far, or about $8000. I paid $22,000 net for the Prius. So the car already has become about the cheapest possible new car I could have chosen, it is still a paragon of reliability, and it saves me money every time it is used. Oh, and it sends about 1/2 the pollutants into the air, and 1/2 the money out of the country, that an alternative choice would. Honestly, the people who write that the Prius is 'not worth it' are fools.
i paid $26,000. for my 04. just sold it with 94,000 miles for $7,000. traded a 25mpg taurus for it. figuring 50 mpg's (low side) to make the math easy, we saved about 2000 gallons X you $3. average = $6,000. savings so $13,000. for the best automobile experience in my life until the pip!
Congrats, Evan! I hit that mark awhile back but I included the money from the sale of my truck. It's amazing how much we used to spend on fuel.
The low maintenance cost of the Prius is what has astounded me. At 125K miles on my '07, still no major repair. My other car, an '02 Nissan Xterra with similar mileage, has cost me over $5000 in repair since it turned 100K. Just this week we had to spend $1300 on it (replacing starter, harmonic balancer, timing belt, etc.) The Prius is the most reliable car I've EVER owned.
Congrats! With my 2012 P2 I have saved over 83 gallons of gas over my old Baja in the past three monhs. Well maybe only 68 gallons actually, since we are driving the Prius much more than the Baja or even the fiancé's Yaris. So much nicer to not think twice about taking road trips because of the price of gas or comfort of the Yaris.
Strong work BUT the cost comparison is not to the Expedition but that 31 mpg Corolla or 36 mpg Diesel Beetle alternative in 2004. At 125,000, I'm sure you did better than break even.
Hi Evan-- Congratulations on making that sound investment. Figure that was purely $ on fuel saved, though. Add in the lower cost of ownership (fewer maintenance bills, etc.) and you've probably saved a lot more. It certainly made sense for you to buy a Prius to replace the Expedition. I wish I could say the same myself - the fuel savings are relatively small in my own situation since I had already been driving a 40 MPG vehicle before and the higher insurance premiums either completely cancel out the $ on fuel saved or actually increase my total costs
Well, I STARTED my 2004 Prius at 110K miles. Now it is 160K, just oil change, wiper blade, tires and 12V battery required. I did change spark plugs. I used refurbished battery $30, used tire $150 for 3 installed. For 50K miles, my total maintenance cost is only $450, less than 1c/mile. I saved about $3200 worth of gas at $3.4/gallon average. I think the car's depreciation is about $1500 so far. So this car actually "makes" about $1500 for me now. The more I drive, the more money I make That's my Prius.
Congrats on the switch and the fuel savings over the years. Wish that more people who drive oversized vehicles would do the same.
I need to get a bumper sticker that says: "My other car is a beater pickup". In my area, I get less than 20 mpg with a 4wd Mitsubishi pickup, 26 years old but still going strong, and still relevant when the rains are extreme . Getting the Prius was not an economic choice as I drive very few miles per year compared to most here. But the pleasure I get from using 1/3 the gas to do what I do, with greatly decreased driver fatigue (quiet!), makes for a big impact on the overall accounting. I fret over the complexity of the car, but I smile when I see 99.9 mpg displayed for more than half an hour on the rolling, hilly, but trending downward sections.
